Julianna Verni’s relief performance sets up Syracuse’s walk-off win over GT
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Syracuse’s dugout roared as it poured onto the field to greet Julianna Verni after the top of the seventh inning. She had just escaped a two-runner-on jam, sitting down Reese Hunter swinging to keep the game tied at 5-5. It was a much-needed boost for the Orange on a frigid evening at Skytop Softball Stadium.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Makenzie Foster ripped a walk-off double to clinch a rubber match against Georgia Tech and give Syracuse a chance to win its first ACC series of 2024.
In the second game of the weekend against Georgia Tech (23-13, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), Syracuse (15-14, 3-8 ACC) eked out a 6-5 win behind strong bullpen pitching from Verni, which set up timely offense by the Orange. Playing the role of unsung hero on a day where Foster was the star, Verni kept the Orange in a tie game and thwarted the Yellow Jackets — who found their spark in the fourth and fifth innings to come back from a 5-2 deficit.
“Our pitchers are going to work for us and they did a great job today just working for us, working as a staff,” SU outfielder Olivia Pess said postgame.
Syracuse held that three-run lead heading into the fourth inning when Tiffany Domingue hit a solo home run to tighten the lead to just two. The Orange had to dip into the bullpen in the fifth inning after starter Britney Lewinski walked the nine-hole hitter Gracie Hillman. Jessie DiPasquale was the replacement, but struggled.
She started hot by striking out Ella Edgmon, yet then walked the next two batters to load the bases. The red-hot Domingue stepped in for the Yellow Jackets, and delivered a two-RBI single to tie the game at 5-5. DiPasquale walked another batter to load the bases up again, but got out of the inning clean.
Verni came in to start the sixth in a crucial spot. She was not afraid to attack Georgia Tech hitters, staying in the strike zone to force contact. It had been a tough day for batters on both sides due to the cold temperatures, and Verni quickly shut down the Yellow Jackets, forcing a groundout, fly out, and pop up. Yet, Syracuse still couldn’t answer offensively.
The seventh inning became the most decisive inning of the game for Syracuse, as the offense had remained stagnant since the first. It needed a momentum swing, and Verni was there to deliver.
After two quick outs, a walk and a base hit kept the inning alive for Georgia Tech. With GT’s Hunter at the plate next, it was a make-or-break moment for Verni and the Orange. But she stayed strong in the circle and didn’t succumb to the pressure. Verni struck out Hunter, leaping in the air in celebration afterward. The momentum switched in Syracuse’s favor. Its offense just needed to come through.
SU mustered just two hits from the second inning through the sixth. But the newfound energy from Verni gave its offense a new spark that had been absent since the first frame. Taylor Posner started the inning with a strikeout, going down on a strong hack on the Chandler Dennis offering. Kelly Breen then stepped up and punched a single into left field.
Laila Morales-Alves followed and hit a comeback ground ball directly to the circle for Dennis, who threw to second to get the out. Though, Morales-Alves beat the return throw to first by a single step to keep the Orange alive in the seventh.
Foster took advantage, roping a double to deep left field on a full count. Morales-Alves wheeled around the bases again, barely beating the throw at home to give Syracuse the win.
The tight win showed the spectrum of what’s necessary for Syracuse to win games this season. The Orange played complementary softball, with Verni’s performance as the precursor for Foster’s heroics.
“Everybody has a job to do, and we’re all gonna have each other’s backs no matter what,” Pess said, “and playing for our pitchers and having their backs.”
